Richelle Yacon is a certified Senior Flavorist at Embassy Ingredients, where she builds the flavours found in foods across grocery store shelgfs alongside a team that also develops colours and bakery ingredients. She earned her certification through the seven-year Society of Flavor Chemists apprenticeship, after starting her career in quality assurance.

In this conversation, Richelle breaks down what a flavourist actually does day to day, how a cinnamon roll flavour is built from a customer brief, and why she calls the job equal parts art and chemistry. You'll also hear about the process of becoming a Certified Flavour Chemist, why math and fine motor skills matter in the lab, and how starting in quality assurance led her into the flavour lab.

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Shownotes

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TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - Intro
03:40 - What Is Flavour?
05:43 - A Day in the Lab
10:45 - Where Art Meets Science
12:13 - The Seven-Year Apprenticeship
15:17 - Richelle's Career Path
22:28 - Training Your Senses
25:33 - Chemicals and Dosage
27:15 - Why Get Certified?
33:00 - Importance of Learning
37:06 - Skills Needed as a Flavourist
39:30 - Teamwork in Flavor Creation
42:06 - Other Roles in the Lab
44:25 - Advice for Students

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Tamanna Ramesh works in customer commercialization for Coca-Cola's North America food service team, supporting a 400 person sales and marketing organization, and also founded Spark Academy, a career coaching business for food industry professionals navigating job searches, negotiations, and visa pathways.

In this conversation, Tamanna breaks down what her day-to-day at Coca-Cola actually looks like, how she's helping build an agentic AI tool so her team can stop hunting for files and information, and why the way you talk about your own work matters just as much as the work itself. You'll also hear how Spark Academy grew from an accidental side hustle into a business, and why Tamanna thinks about her career as a garden instead of a straight pipeline.

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Shownotes

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FREE RESOURCE FOR LISTENERS
Tamanna is sharing her "Network Like a Pro" resource with our listeners. Use the passcode FOODGRADS to access it: Get the Networking Playbook

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - Introduction
01:55 - Her Coca-Cola Role, Explained
04:39 - Connecting Teams Across a Big Org
09:44 - What Is Agentic AI?
12:37 - Building the AI Search Tool
16:39 - AI Advice for Students
20:15 - From Food Scientist to Business Role
23:05 - Embracing Experimentation
24:50 - Starting Spark Academy
31:23 - A Client Success Story
36:21 - Advice for the Next Generation

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Sienna Corral, Partnerships Lead, and Lila Sonmaz, Head of Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning, are co-founders of the World Food Forum Quebec Chapter, an FAO initiative connecting young leaders working on food security and sustainability.

In this part two conversation, Sienna and Lila open up about their very different paths into food advocacy, how they measure whether their work is actually making a difference, and why you don't need a job title in the food industry to already be part of the system. You'll also learn ways on how you can get involved in food advocacy even as a student in school.

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Shownotes

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TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - Intro
01:37 - Chapter Mission Recap
02:51 - Lila's Path Into Food Systems
04:17 - Sienna's Path Into Food Systems
05:55 - Sienna's Role: Partnerships Lead
06:54 - Lila's Role: Measuring Impact
08:31 - Chapter Partners & Agri-Food's Scope
11:34 - What a Win Looks Like
13:09 - Chapter Events & Launch Party
14:39 - Who Can Get Involved
15:37 - Sustainable Gastronomy Week Results
18:02 - Current Projects & Proud Moments
19:23 - How Many WFF Chapters Exist
22:22 - Is the Food System Working?
25:10 - The Power of Language
26:48 - Making Agri-Food Feel Accessible
28:19 - Moving From Caring to Acting
30:11 - Empowering Youth Involvement
33:02 - Different Levels of Involvement
34:41 - Final Advice: Start Small

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Cate Laskey is Co-Founder of the World Food Forum Quebec Chapter and a former Agrifood Systems Ad Hoc Delegate with the McGill Youth Advisory Delegation (MYAD).

Laia Charles Saigne is also a Co-Founder of the World Food Forum Quebec Chapter and a former CSocD64 and UNFCITC INC4 Delegate with MYAD.

Jeanne Gonelle is the former Director of MYAD.

MYAD is a youth-led NGO that has held Special Consultative Status with the UN Economic and Social Council since 2006, working to bridge the gap between decision-makers and youth.

WFF is an FAO youth initiative that brings together young leaders to tackle food security and sustainability challenges through local chapters.

In this podcast episode we dig into their story, what the WFF and MYAD actually are, and explore why young people belong in the conversation about our food system, even before they're officially employed in it.

This is part one of a two part episode. Next week we're back with more members of the chapter, Sienna Corral and Lila Sonmaz, to continue the conversation.

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Shownotes

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TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - Intro
01:59 - What Is the World Food Forum
03:08 - Founding the Quebec Youth Chapter
05:46 - Chapter Goals & Breaking Silos
09:38 - Agri-Food in Quebec Explained
11:54 - Defining Food Insecurity
16:43 - Why They Got Involved
23:05 - NGOs & Policy Explained
29:07 - What Advocacy Actually Looks Like
35:43 - Barriers to Youth Participation
37:50 - How Policies Actually Get Made
40:39 - Measuring Real Impact
44:03 - Proudest Moments
52:53 - Advice for Getting Involved

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💼 Cate Laskey LinkedIn
💼 Jeanne Gonelle LinkedIn
💼 Laia Charles LinkedIn

💼Quebec Youth Chapter of the World Food Forum (FAO) LinkedIn

💼McGill Youth Advisory Delegation LinkedIn
🌐 World Food Forum Website

🌐McGill Youth Advisory Delegation Website

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Melody Yu is the President and Founder of Women in Food Safety, a nonprofit community supporting female food safety professionals, and she also runs her own food safety consulting business, MarsMel LLC.

Note at 7:20 Melody meant to say 7 principles and 12 steps

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Shownotes

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TIMESTAMPS

00:00 – Nothing You Do Is Wasted

00:28 – Welcome Back, Melody

01:26 – Life Since Round One

03:38 – Going All In on WIFS

04:22 – Mapping a Food Safety Career

05:20 – Starting in R&D

07:45 – Learning the SQF Code

10:08 – Visa Limbo and Consulting Years

13:01 – Find What You Like

13:39 – Opportunities for Today's Students

14:38 – Stay or Go? Her Checklist

17:42 – Fitting In vs. Belonging

19:00 – Certifications Worth Getting

20:04 – Try Everything While You're Young

22:35 – Why She Founded WIFS

23:17 – The Food Science Club Moment

25:34 – Bridging Academia and Industry

27:39 – Two New Global Chapters

29:44 – How Members Find Solutions Together

32:20 – 1,700 Members and Counting

35:33 – What "Middle Management" Really Means

37:29 – What's Next for WIFS

39:52 – How Students Can Get Involved

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Paige Mawson is Manager of Features and Education at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, a 104-year-old event that draws around 300,000 visitors annually to downtown Toronto.

In this episode, Paige reveals how one of Canada's most iconic events is bridging city life and rural tradition through unforgettable experiences, hands-on learning, and storytelling that sparks curiosity. Discover how she leverages her museum studies background to transform the fair into a living, breathing educational hub that connects millions to our food system.

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Shownotes

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AgCareers is on a mission to provide global talent solutions in agriculture and food. They strive to "Feed the World with Talent" in the industries they serve. Their passion for agriculture is evident in their investment of time and resources in engaging with candidates and employers in the industry. Visit AgCareers.com to explore career opportunities and build your future in agriculture.

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TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - Intro
00:58 - What the Royal Is
05:07 - Connecting Country and City
09:27 - Year-Round Planning Cycle
11:49 - Paige's Collaborative Role
13:16 - Designing Educational Programming
17:28 - Paige's Career Path
19:26 - Common Misconceptions
20:43 - AgCareers Sponsor Break
21:48 - Where to Start: Local Agricultural Fairs
25:23 - Roles Beyond Farming
27:00 - Transferable Skills in Agri-Food
29:48 - Paige's Royal Highlights
31:20 - Champion Showcase and Food at the Fair
33:35 - Getting Involved: 4-H, AgScape, Farm Tours
35:55 - One Takeaway for Listeners
37:19 - Tickets and What's Coming at the 2026 Royal

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Aparajhitha Sudarshan is a Quality and Regulatory Manager in pet food manufacturing and the founder of Food Strategy Consulting, where she helps small and medium food businesses with compliance, training, and food safety systems.

In today's episode, we talk about the 80/20 rule of food safety leadership, how to build soft skills nobody teaches you in school, and practical ways students can network at conferences without it feeling forced.

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Shownotes

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🎵 Music: 'Piano Sway' (Intro A - 4 seconds) by Jay Man / OurMusicBox (our-music-box.com)

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TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - Intro
01:41 - About Apara's Food Job
02:59 - Foundations of Food Safety
03:56 - Building Team Culture
05:50 - A Typical Day on the Floor
09:26 - Pre-Op Conversations
11:06 - The Soft Skill Nobody Teaches
15:44 - Most Surprising Part of the Job
17:46 - Her Career Path
20:10 - Comparing Industries
22:22 - Practicing Soft Skills Early
24:05 - What Is Toastmasters?
27:56 - Reframing Mistakes
30:34 - Conference Networking Advice
40:14 - Low-Stakes Ways to Start
42:27 - Closing Thoughts

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Jake Karls is Co-Founder and Chief Rainmaker at Midday Squares, a Better-For-You chocolate and snacking brand now sold in over 10,000 stores across North America.

In today's episode, we talk about what it actually looks like to build a career on relationships instead of resumes, how to network without an agenda, and why your story matters more than you think, even if you don't feel like you have one yet.

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Shownotes

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TIMESTAMPS

00:00 – Intro

00:20 – Meet Jake Karls

07:37 – Networking Without Feeling Fake

10:39 – Why Your Resume Isn't Enough

12:30 – Finding What Makes You, You

14:16 – Overcoming Fear of Public Speaking

17:56 – Mentorship You Already Have Access To

20:39 – Using Social Media For Good

21:44 – What To Say At A Networking Event

24:46 – What Actually Makes A Good Story

27:30 – Why Facts Alone Don't Land

28:38 – Dealing With Online Haters

30:22 – What's Next For Midday Squares

34:54 – Final Advice For Students

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Opening Song by

"Track Title(s)'' Jay Man - OurMusicBox

https://www.our-music-box.com

/ ourmusicbox

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